Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals hears argument on whether juvenile‑sentencing precedent applies to consecutive terms

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals heard oral argument in Donald K. Moore v. State on an issue the parties described as whether the decision the participants called "Booker," a juvenile‑sentencing precedent, requires relief from consecutive sentences imposed on a defendant who was 17 at the time of his offenses.

Appellant counsel Ardena Garth Hicks asked the panel to remand Moore’s post‑conviction petitions for a hearing, arguing that "youth matters" and the protections identified in the cited juvenile‑sentencing decision should apply to consecutive terms imposed alongside an automatic life sentence. Alan Groves, arguing for the state, said the court should affirm the post‑conviction court’s dismissal, relying principally on this court’s recent Mallard v. State decision which, he said, held the cited precedent does not extend to…